Chapter 271

Fujian, Quanzhou.

Shaolin Temple.

Wang Hai leaped off his horse and walked quickly to the mountain gate.

The guest-receiving monk had already been waiting at the gate, and seeing Wang Hai, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

"Benefactor."

Wang Hai nodded.

"Where is Master Yong Jie?"

"The Abbot is in the side hall and has been waiting for you for many days."

The guest-receiving monk gestured with his hand.

"Please follow me."

He then led Wang Hai into the mountain gate, passed through several corridors, and arrived at a quiet side hall.

The guest-receiving monk bowed with his hands together, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Wang Hai stepped into the hall and saw that there was not a single object in this side hall, only an empty bluestone floor, with water faintly shimmering on the ground, which was quite clean.

In the center of the side hall, Yong Jie was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his upper body completely bare, revealing strong and broad muscles covered in scars. He was frowning tightly, slowly twisting his Buddhist beads, and muttering to himself.

The muscles on the left side of his chest were bulging, forming a vivid and lifelike face of a beautiful woman, whose expression was the same as Yong Jie's, with her brows tightly locked and her lips constantly squirming.

Wang Hai did not rush to speak.

Judging by Yong Jie's posture, although he didn't know what martial arts he was practicing, it was clearly at a critical juncture.

He and Li Miao could be considered to have had a private friendship, and they were roughly half-friends, so Wang Hai didn't find it appropriate to wake Yong Jie directly. But he didn't leave either, just stood where he was, secretly trying to read Yong Jie's lip movements.

Wang Hai was a wolf cub raised by Li Miao. No matter how deep the friendship Li Miao had with others on the surface, he would always lie at Li Miao's feet, scanning the other party's vital points with cold eyes, ready to bite at any time.

It was only natural for him to spy on the cultivation method Yong Jie was practicing. If it were Mei Qinghe, she would probably have turned and left to avoid suspicion, only entering after Yong Jie had finished his practice.

"Sitting in the Vajra position, the spine is straight like a snow mountain."

"Seven wheels produce bright points, burning out the cocoon of ignorance..."

Wang Hai recited silently in his heart.

"It looks like a detoxification technique, but..."

Wang Hai cast his gaze toward the beautiful woman's face on Yong Jie's chest.

"The three karmas are purified, and the Dharma realm is cool together."

"May all the beings in the turbid world ascend to the Lotus Land together."

"The formula that Yong Jie is reciting is not the same as the formula that the Miao King face on his chest is reciting."

"I have not achieved the Heaven-Man state, so I cannot see through the flow of his true energy. But these two sets of formulas—one is for detoxification, and one is for calming the mind. How can two faces on one person recite them at the same time?"

"Using one mind for two purposes? No, that's not right."

"Using one mind for two purposes is to disperse one's focus, which can only be used for moves, not for internal energy. Running two sets of formulas at the same time means there are two paths of true energy running in his body, which should logically lead to immediate deviation."

"This face on his chest should just be an illusion formed by bulging muscles. But looking at the posture, it's as if two people are practicing internal energy at the same time."

"Shaolin... indeed has a foundation."

Wang Hai thought to himself.

Suddenly, Yong Jie frowned.

"Pfft—"

He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of pitch-black blood, which stained the ground and immediately emitted wisps of white smoke.

Wang Hai looked closely and saw that the bluestone floor had immediately revealed a large hole, and the blood was constantly boiling in the hole, still continuing to erode downward.

And the white smoke emitted by the poisonous blood reached Wang Hai, who suddenly felt his true energy agitated, so he hurriedly retreated a few steps and waved his palm to disperse the smoke.

"What a fierce poison!"

Wang Hai frowned.

"I have the Gu insect given by the Fourth Sister in my body, and the love Gu that is tied to her life, so there are not many poisons in the world that are effective against me. The smoke emitted by this poisonous blood could actually trigger the true energy in my body to surge."

At this moment, he also understood why there were no objects in this room.

The furniture in this day and age is all made of wood. If it were stained with the white smoke emitted by this poisonous blood, the toxins would seep into the texture, and it would probably become a poisoned weapon.

Not to mention using it to hit people, even if someone held it for a long time, they would probably be poisoned through their pores and die.

After Yong Jie spat out the poisonous blood, he first shook his head, then slowly opened his eyes and looked at Wang Hai standing at the door.

"..."

Wang Hai's hands tightened, his feet paused, and he retreated half a step.

"Murderous aura!"

"Shaolin wants to turn against us!? No, that's not right!"

"This is not his murderous aura, but..."

Wang Hai stared fixedly at the Miao King face on Yong Jie's chest.

"It's this thing!"

"Damn it, what is this, one body with two souls? No wonder the Jianghu rumors say he practices evil arts! Even with murderous aura, can this thing still be considered flesh and blood!?"

"It's simply like—another person has grown on his chest!"

Wang Hai was secretly on guard, ready to turn and flee at any time, but suddenly heard Yong Jie let out a long sigh.

"Benefactor Wang... I have made you laugh."

He slowly stood up, picked up the cassock he had been sitting on, put it on, covered the Miao King face, and then let out a long breath.

"I haven't seen Lord Li for a long time... how has he been lately?"

Seeing that Yong Jie had no hostility, Wang Hai smiled.

"The Commander is doing well. A few days ago, he was talking about you, Master, saying that he wanted to invite you to a small gathering at Mount Heng last time, but you declined, which was a great pity."

After hearing this, Yong Jie laughed.

"I did travel with Lord Li for a while, and with his temperament, he would definitely not say it so politely."

"He should have said that this bald donkey is unappreciative, doesn't know how to accept a favor, and doesn't know what kind of trouble he's brewing by hiding in the temple."

Wang Hai smiled and did not answer.

Yong Jie sighed and shook his head slowly.

"It's not that I don't want to meet Lord Li, it's just that in this state of mine, I don't dare to see an old friend."

"If Lord Li were here in person, he would probably punch me a few times and then forcibly gouge out the face on my chest before he would be willing to stop."

"It's just that this time, I'm afraid I can't hide from it."

Yong Jie's expression became solemn.

"I have already learned the news that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has come out in full force to invite all the heroes of the world to gather at Mount Song. I waited in the temple for a long time before I waited for Benefactor Wang to come."

Wang Hai also put away his smile.

"For an inheritance like Shaolin, naturally, one cannot send a Deputy Battalion Commander or a Company Commander, and besides, my Commander also has words to bring to your temple."

"Oh?"

Yong Jie said slowly.

"I wonder what words Lord Li has to bring to Shaolin?"

Wang Hai walked slowly to Yong Jie.

"Shaolin, how many Heaven-Men are you hiding?"

Yong Jie frowned.

"What does Lord Li mean?"

Wang Hai waved his hand.

"Master, there is no need to be on guard. This is not a test."

"When Ji Tianrui attacked your temple that day, she had already faintly sensed the aura of that master in the Scripture Library, and she also told my Commander about this."

"And with my Commander's temperament, he disdains to do any verbal testing."

Yong Jie nodded.

Indeed, with Li Miao's temperament, if he were to take action against Shaolin because of the Heaven-Man matter, he would probably have already attacked the door directly and would not have sent Wang Hai to say this at all.

"The Commander's meaning is that in the current Jianghu, there are already quite a few Heaven-Men appearing in the world."

"But, of the seven honored guests who fled from Shuntian Prefecture, most are of the evil path. The Sword King Pavilion is both righteous and evil, and the Duan family of Dali has not yet revealed their path."

"In my Commander's words, there are so many Heaven-Men, but they only care about cultivating 'Heaven' and few are acting as 'Humans'."

"This Jianghu cannot always rely on my Commander's rules to live."

Wang Hai said slowly.

"Rules are the bottom line, but above the bottom line, there must be Heaven-Men to act as a model for the righteous path and raise the spirit of this Jianghu."

"Master Xing Chi has accumulated prestige for Shaolin for nearly a hundred years, and you, Master, have a private friendship with the Commander."

"This model of the righteous path must be Shaolin."

After saying this, Wang Hai slowly retreated a few steps, cleared his throat, and said loudly.

"The Commander of the Northern Internal Security Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Lord Li Miao, has an order."

"Order Shaolin Abbot Yong Jie to bring the Heaven-Men in the temple to Mount Song to join in the grand event!"

Yong Jie was silent for a moment.

He raised his hands to his face and slowly put them together.

"Shaolin, accepts the order."

Wang Hai said no more, bowed, and turned to leave.

Halfway there, he suddenly turned around.

"By the way, there is one thing, it is not my Commander's meaning, it is just that I personally want to ask."

Yong Jie nodded.

"Benefactor, please speak."

Wang Hai smiled.

"Recently, has anyone from Shaolin sent an invitation? The kind made of gold foil, with no location or reason written on it."

Yong Jie shook his head.

"Never."

Wang Hai smiled abruptly.

"In that case, it seems that this group of people is not that confident."

"Then I will not bother you anymore. On the 15th of the eighth month, at Mount Song, I will wait for Shaolin's arrival."

After saying this, he turned and left.

(End of chapter)